2018 Directory

12 WYOMING ARCHITECTURE .18 | www.aia-wyoming.org www.aia-wyoming.org FirstPresbyterianChurch Casper,Wyoming Sketchby: CarissaMarak www.aia-wyoming.org Old Main Laramie, Wyoming Drawingby: W.E.Hichcock A t the heart of the Education and Resource Committee (ERC) mission, is the desire to encourage the education of architecture in schools and raise awareness about the profession to the youth in Wyoming. Over the last year, the ERC has devel- oped an “adopt a school” program in which architects from across the state are connected with their local schools to talk about architecture and promote the profession. The “adopt a school” program is intended to be a relationship between architects and their commu- nity school. The desire is to build a connection with 4th grade teachers and architects and that the relationship be a connection that continues year after year. Why the fourth grade one might ask? The committee targeted the fourth grade for two primary reasons, first, forth grade students are learning about Wyoming history which is a good segue into the importance of architecture and its impact on culture and how archi- tecture responds to the context of its time and place, and secondly, engineers across the state celebrate “E-Week” and “Surveyors Week” which reach out to schools in a similar fashion and these disciplines target other grade levels in elementary schools. This year, there were seven architects and architects in training who present- ed to nearly twenty 4th grade classes during “Architecture Week” across the state equating to nearly three hundred students who heard about a career in architecture and participated in the Marshmallow Challenge; an impromptu activity where students build a structure out of spaghetti noodles that supports a marshmallow atop the structure (tallest structure wins). The participants and numbers were right where the com- mittee had hoped. Architecture Week occurs during a busy time of year and many local architects who had volun- teered to participate were unable to Education & Resources Committee Introducing Architecture to Students BY LEVI VAN BUGGENUM, AIA, CHAIR Committee Members: Levi Van Buggenum, AIA, Chair Clint Taylor, AIA Brandon Daigle, AIA Jo Haley, Associate AIA Jera Schlotthauer, PE, SE Scott Zabilla Cornelius Kinsey, AIA Doug Selby, AIA connect with a school given the busy time of year. As a result, the program is shifting to do presentations again in November of 2018, prior to the holiday season, with the hopes to grow participation numbers by twenty percent. Another program that the ERC worked on is connected to promoting architecture in schools, which is to develop material that can be left behind with students. The desire for this material / media was that it be relevant to the student’s education, that it was useful to students and had lasting value or application. The committee solic- ited members across the state to submit artwork or technical drawings of historic buildings in Wyoming which could be used to develop a series of bookmarks. The desire is for this collection of bookmarks to grow over time and expand to include all time periods of significant architecture represented in the state through various media; freehand drawings, technical drawings, painting, photography etc. During the remainder of the year, the ERC is organizing school presentations and will be expanding the book marks to include modern architecture in Wyoming, through photographic media. If anyone is interested in participating in a presentation with a local school or has photos of their work that they would like to nominate for inclusion into this next series of book marks, then please contact Levi Van Buggenum, AIA at LeviV@aretedesign.group. b